Well, surprise, surprise. I called Bruce Newberg this week, too, to come to the Tiffany Theater showcase and again by pure coincidence I was called in to audition for a project. Will wonders never cease?
I read for Bruce as well as the director and a couple other people. The scene itself was a breakup scene between high school sweethearts because she wanted more out of life. He then goes off into the woods and kills himself. Pretty morbid, huh? Yet there were a couple of lines in the script that were slightly amusing because the guy is not too bright. (Another reason she wants to leave him, I'm sure.) So I couldn't really tell if it was a "screwball comedy" or a "melodrama" or a "dark comedy" or what. So I just went in and tried to do it as a realistic dramatic piece.
They laughed and laughed. After the first couple of lines, they all laughed at my reading of a line. Now I didn't play it funny, but more quirky by making the guy so clueless. But there I sat with with dramatic piece at a comedy audition. I punched up some stuff as I went but pretty much stayed true to my "vision." When it was all said and done, the director said, "Oh, you broke my heart." That sounds kind of nice. Unless, of course, you're auditioning for a COMEDY!